The Miami Herald’s state Capitol bureau in Tallahassee seeks a reporter who is a quick study, a great juggler, a fierce source builder and a fearless challenger of public officials. If you have a passion for political and government accountability reporting, you’ll want to be part of the four-reporter bureau we operate in full partnership with the Tampa Bay Times.
This job requires the ability to cover one issue that is making news one day and then pivot to another issue that is the focus of legislators and the governor on another day. Building a wide source base will be key to breaking stories and relaying how the actions in Tallahassee will impact communities in South Florida.
The team pursues enterprise and investigative stories, and helps cover hurricanes, breaking news and the Tallahassee end of big stories in South Florida.
Since the governor of Florida is a candidate, the reporter may also be pulled into campaign coverage of the presidential race.
The state government reporter will have a few topic beats and an assignment to cover the House, Senate or governor’s office. You’ll be a political reporter in election years, covering statewide races and collaborating on presidential campaign coverage, too.
Accountability reporting is the top priority, and that means building sources, following the money and learning the nuances of political life in Tallahassee. Every day will bring new opportunities to hold the powerful accountable and report the kind of stories that affect the lives of readers all over Florida.
This position reports to an editor in the Miami newsroom.
What you’ll bring:
The ideal candidate will be familiar with Florida, have a passion for covering government and politics, and be comfortable working on a collaborative team. They should have a strong track record of breaking news, writing clean, clear and revelatory enterprise stories and an interest in alternative formats for storytelling. Being able to analyze complex documents and effectively mine public records is important, as is being able to think ahead to tomorrow’s story today. The successful candidate will be a confident self-starter who will develop a strong network of sources and use all the other tools available – social media and data analytics, in particular – to find and pursue stories that will reach a broad audience.
- Watchdog reporting that holds elected officials and public employees accountable for their stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars and citizens’ rights.
- Covering politically charged issues by developing deep knowledge on hot topics and sorting through the spin and bluster and contacting all sides to give clear-eyed reports to readers.
- Developing sources and doing the kind of deep reporting that breaks news.
- Working with urgency in a highly competitive media environment to reach digital readers quickly.
- Using multimedia tools to include key elements such as documents, photos, audio and video recordings and links to original materials.
- Analyzing data to find stories in campaign finance reports and public documents about state government and its agencies.
- Writing with a digital-first mentality that includes strong social and SEO headlines.
- 3+ years of reporting at a daily news organization.
- A track record of breaking news and enterprise reporting.
- An understanding of digital publishing, audience metrics and social media trends.
Job duties:
- Produce multiple stories per week ranging from breaking news to enterprise to investigative/watchdog/accountability reporting.
- Ability to shoot and edit your own photos and video.
- Ability to use spreadsheets and/or databases to compile and analyze data.
- Ability to work collaboratively while staying connected to editors and colleagues.
- Willingness to travel to out-of-town assignments. A valid driver’s license is required.
- This job has flexible days and hours. Working some nights and weekends may occasionally be required.
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